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In the words of Chief Roy Crazy Horse...
We are the native natural people of this land, descendants of an ancient
confederation that at one time included over thirty nations. Our people
were placed here by the Creator, and have maintained an unbroken history
of thousands of years of settlement along the coastal areas of the
mid-Atlantic. Although most of our lands are now occupied by others, many
of the nation of the original Powhatan Confederacy still survive. The
oldest treaty written in this land is between the Powhatan Nations in the
year 1646.
Since the time we met the Europeans in the 1500's, our history has been
characterized as a struggle to survive war, disease, prejudice, and
cultural disintegration. Foreign disease alone probably accounted for
halving the Powhatan population by the end of the 17th century. Many of
the survivors of those early epidemics were largely decimated by war and
starvation. Yet, against all odds, we the Renape (human beings)
have survived. Essentially the term Renape refers to us as an
ethnic group, a people speaking a common language. However, we were not
all united in one Nation. Our people governed themselves freely and
harmoniously as independent republics, which sometimes came together in
alliances or confederations, such as the Powhatan Confederacy. Thus
Powhatan refers to our political identity, while Renape refers
to our ethnic/language identity.
Preservation
History shows that New Jersey's efforts to create a European society to
the exclusion of the Original Peoples resulted in an ethnic cleansing
which eliminated almost the entire Native population in the early 19th
century.
Despite systematic attempts to destroy our Confederation and our culture,
the Powhatans have endured, proving our Peoples' strong will to
preserve our heritage. Tribal affinities remain strong,
distinctive religious beliefs and economic traditions continue to
be practiced, and in spite of efforts to force our people to
speak only English, the Powhatan language is still alive!
Powhatans Today
Today, most of the descendants of New Jersey's Original People are in
Oklahoma and in Canada.
The Powhatan Renape Nation's origins were in the late 19th century, where
one by one, our people came in to settle a tiny subdivision known as
Morrisville and Delair in Pennsauken Township.
Our forefathers were mostly Rappahannocks from Virginia and Nanticokes
from Delaware. Although they had taken tremendous losses in culture as the
result of the racist society which surrounded them, they were able to
retain their identity. They know who they were and they sought people like
themselves as spouses for their sons and daughters. They were quiet, put
down deep roots, brought in new members, consolidated their community. At
one point, almost 90% of the population of Morrisville were Powhatan
Renape people - some 42 homes.
In the 1960's, we "went public" by establishing a center in Philadelphia
and later in Moorestown....but we always kept quiet about our home
neighborhood. In 1976 we moved to larger quarters in Medford. In 1980, the
State of New Jersey, by Resolution of its Senate with the concurrence of
the General Assembly, recognized the Powhatan Renape Nation. The
resolution also called upon the Congress of the United States to recognize
the Powhatan Renape Nation.
IN 1982 the Powhatan Renape Nation negotiated an agreement with the State
of New Jersey to take over 350 acres of state owned land in the town of
Westampton. The property is now recognized by the state of New Jersey and
the general public as the Rankokus
Indian Reservation. The Nation's administrative Center is located here to
manage its community, educational, cultural, social and other programs and
services.
We take on the responsibility of helping the people of the State of New
Jersey - particularly school children - to understand our people, our
ways, our history, and in the process, to help them understand their own
history and their responsibility as Human Beings in the Creation.
Thousands of school children visit the Reservation annually to tour its
museum, art gallery, and the many exhibits and nature trails on the
grounds.
Annual events such as the Juried American Indian Arts Festival, the
largest of its kind east of the Mississippi River, are held at the
Reservation. As such, the Reservation serves as a focal point not only of
the Powhatan Renape Nation, but for American Indians` of other nations
located in the region.
For additional information, we recommend
A Brief History of the Powhatan Renape Nation, by Chief Crazy
Horse. This publication available directly from the Rankokus Indian
Reservation. To order, please send $3.00 plus $1.21 for shipping and handling to:
Powhatan Renape Nation
Rankokus Indian Reservation
PO Box 225
Rancocas, NJ 08073
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